


Time Out

by amine



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Graduate School, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Stress Relief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 20:44:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12307386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amine/pseuds/amine
Summary: "Alfred redirects his face so their lips meet, and Arthur is distressed to realize that he doesn’t remember the last time he kissed Alfred. He kisses back for all he’s worth, feeling needy and anxious now that he’s finally pulled himself away from his work."





	Time Out

Arthur is going to punch a hole through his laptop. It’s an inevitability.

Or, maybe, he’ll slam his head through the wall so he doesn’t have to deal with his doctoral dissertation anymore.

He lifts the giant mug of coffee at his side, because as wretched as coffee is, it’s the only thing getting him through his days at this point. He’s fairly certain he’s going a little bit insane, but with the deadline looming, he can’t afford to step away from things to cool down. He just has to push through, and then he can rest when it’s all over.

The bedroom door opens and Alfred appears, though Arthur only spares him a glance before he goes back to glaring at his laptop.

“Sweetheart? Do you want something to eat?”

Arthur grunts in reply, twitching a little at yet another one of Alfred’s attempts at interrupting him. Alfred has been trying to entice him with food, company, sex, and other distractions for the months that he’s thrown himself into focusing almost solely on his dissertation, and each time he’s just grown more and more irritated with Alfred’s inability to let him focus.

“Arthur? I think maybe you should take a break and maybe we can—”

Arthur doesn’t let him finish, and he slams his fists on the laptop keyboard and looks up to give Alfred a wild and angry glare.

“For the love of fucking god, Alfred, will you shut the fuck up and leave me alone?”

In return, Alfred gives him a look devoid of any emotion and then nods as he takes a step back. “Sure, Arthur.”

At first, Arthur turns back to the laptop to fix the mess caused by slamming it with his fists, but his typing slows as he stops to really think about what just happened. Somehow that detached response coupled with that blank look have more of an effect than any of Alfred’s angry or kicked puppy looks. Arthur hands begin to shake and he pulls at his hair in frustration. He shoves himself away from the desk and lets out a growl of frustration as he stalks out of the room after Alfred.

He finds Alfred reading, and Alfred regards him with a questioning look on his face. Arthur lets out a small sob and crosses the room to throw himself at Alfred, who tosses his book aside to hold him. He swears that the instant Alfred’s arms are around him, some of the extreme tension that’s had him wound up for months is eased.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he says in a soft voice as he kisses Alfred’s face.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, sweetheart.”

Alfred redirects his face so their lips meet, and Arthur is distressed to realize that he doesn’t remember the last time he kissed Alfred. He kisses back for all he’s worth, feeling needy and anxious now that he’s finally pulled himself away from his work. Alfred rubs his back as they kiss, and he breaks it with a frown.

“Goddamn, you’re tense.”

Arthur buries his face in Alfred’s neck, grimacing as he thinks about the state of his life. Alfred keeps rubbing his back and kissing his face while he feels sorry for himself, but he feels in this situation a bit of self-pity is warranted.

“I feel like I’m losing my mind. The closer and closer I get to my deadline, the more I feel like my entire dissertation is garbage and I should throw it all out.”

“Hell no, you’re not doing that. No way in hell I’m putting up with all of this again.”

Arthur lets out a small laugh, but it’s quickly replaced with another frown. Alfred pushes him away enough to look him in the eye, and his expression is deadly serious.

“You seriously need to step back once in a while. We can go out to eat or see a movie or something. Hell, let me just give you a massage or fuck you on the couch or something. You’re not going to do your best work if you’re just this constant ball of stress. I could use you as a weapon right now, you’re so fucking tense.”

Arthur nods slowly, slipping his hands around the back of Alfred’s neck to pull him into another kiss. Alfred gently pushes him, maneuvering him so he’s lying on the sofa with Alfred on top of him. For a while, they just kiss and touch each other’s faces, basking in something they haven’t enjoyed for some time. Arthur feels his stress continuing to slip away. The thought that his dissertation will still be there when he goes back prevents him from relaxing completely, but he’s only been making his personal hell even worse by denying himself Alfred’s love. He pulls away and strokes Alfred’s face with a frown.

“I’m sorry for how I’ve been treating you. You deserve so much better than this.”

Alfred shakes his head and gives him a lopsided smile. “You’ve been a real dick, yeah, but I get why. I’m looking forward to being able to brag about how I’m married to a ‘doctor’.” Alfred gives him a firm kiss and his smile widens. “But from now on, if I have to drag you kicking and screaming out the door to get you to calm the fuck down, I’m going to do it.”

Arthur returns the grin and pinches Alfred’s nose. “I’ll try not to let it reach that point. Now, I heard you say something about fucking me right here. Get to it.”

Alfred pins him to the cushions and smiles. “With pleasure,” he says before kissing him again.


End file.
